Intestinal helminth infections and dietary diversity score predict nutritional status of urban schoolchildren from southern Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Undernutrition is a major public health problem in developing countries like Ethiopia where schoolchildren are among the vulnerable groups. However, limited attention has been given for the nutritional status of schoolchildren including the lack of available evidence on the magnitude and modifiable risk factors in different parts of the country. Thus, we aimed at determining the magnitude and predictors of undernutrition among schoolchildren in Arba Minch town, southern Ethiopia. METHODS: A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted in March and April, 2014 involving 532 schoolchildren aged 7 to 14 years. A two-stage probability sampling procedure was applied to select study schools and subjects. Anthropometry measurements were taken using standardized techniques and calibrated equipment. Intestinal parasite infections were determined from stool samples using direct saline method and formal ether concentration technique; whereas data on demographic and relevant risk factors were gathered through structured interview of caretakers. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regressions were used to identify predictors of stunting and wasting in the study population. RESULTS: The prevalence of stunting and wasting were 26.0% (95% CI: 22.3, 30.1%) and 11.7% (95% CI: 9.1, 14.9%), respectively. In multivariable model, poor household wealth [AOR (95% CI) = 3.2 (1.2, 8.5)], living in large family [AOR (95% CI) = 2.3 (1.0, 5.1)], lack of maternal formal education [AOR (95% CI) = 4.1 (1.8, 9.4)], low Dietary Diversity Score [AOR (95% CI) = 2.3 (1.2, 4.7)], A. lumbricoides [AOR (95% CI) = 5.0 (2.7, 9.4)], hookworm [AOR (95% CI) = 8.0 (4.0, 15.8)] and T. trichuria [AOR (95% CI) = 6.3 (2.8, 14.1)] infections were associated with stunting. Wasting status was independently associated with not living with both parents [AOR (95% CI) = 2.0 (1.0, 4.1)], poor household wealth [AOR (95% CI) = 8.9 (2.0, 39.2)], and recent illnesses [AOR (95% CI) = 6.3 (3.1, 12.6)]. CONCLUSIONS: Both acute and chronic malnutrition are prevalent among schoolchildren in the study area where intestinal parasite infections, poor dietary quality and common illnesses are important modifiable risk factors. A comprehensive school-based health and nutrition intervention involving parents may help to alleviate the problem including regular deworming and promotion of personal hygiene and balanced diet

Kesadaran Hukum Masyarakat Pengguna Jalan di Kota Denpasar

Legal awareness of road users especially users of motorcycles is a process of assessment of the traffic law. Every human being has the legal awareness, the problem is the level of awareness, there is a high, medium and low. Based on the theory of legal awareness Soerjono Soekanto and research results in the field, it is known that the level of legal awareness of road users is relatively low, it can be seen from the understanding and behavior towards traffic rules. Legal System Theory from Lawrence M. Friedman and theory of Law Effectiveness Soerjono Soekanto used to determine the factors that affect the level of legal awareness. Based on this research, the factors that influence is divided into 4 parts, namely legal substance, legal structure, legal culture, and facilities. In accordance with the purposes of the law as social control, the police efforts are divided into 3 as pre-emptive, preventive and repressive realized through engineering of the traffic infrastructure, construction elements of road users, and engineering in the field of law or settings including law enforcement

Mutatsioonisagedust mõjutavate tegurite otsinguil: tRNA modifikatsiooniensüümid TruA ja RluA mutatsiooniprotsessides

Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsiooneBakterid suudavad elada kõikjal, kuid karmide ja muutlike keskkonnatingimustega kohanemiseks on aga vaja geneetilist varieeruvust. Bakterites on selle põhiliseks allikaks mutatsioonid. Evolutsiooni mõistmiseks on vaja selgitada molekulaarseid mehhanisme, mis mõjutavad mutatsioonide tekkesagedust. Käesolevas töös kirjeldasin ja analüüsisin uut testsüsteemi, mis võimaldab tuvastada mutatsioonisagedust mõjutavaid faktoreid bakteriperekonnas Pseudomonas. Kirjeldatud testsüsteemi abil õnnestus mullabakteris Pseudomonas putida tuvastada nii varem kirjeldatud kui ka uusi mutatsioonisagedust mõjutavaid geene. Üllatavaim leid oli tRNA modifikatsiooniensüümide TruA ja RluA mõju mutatsioonisagedusele. tRNAd on väikesed molekulid, mis valgusünteesil kannavad valkude ehituskive ribosoomi. Selleks, et paremini oma funktsiooni täita, on paljud nukleotiidid tRNAdes modifitseeritud. Modifikatsioonidel võib olla palju ülesandeid, näiteks aitavad modifikatsioonid tRNAdel saavutada õiget struktuuri või suurendavad translatsiooni täpsust. TruA ja RluA modifitseerivad U nukleotiidi pseudouridiiniks, tehes seda erineval poolel tRNA antikoodonist. Näitasime, et TruA ja RluA tehtud modifikatsioonide puudumisel suureneb P. putidas mutatsioonisagedus. Mõistmaks paremini nende ensüümide olulisust, analüüsisime translatsiooni täpsust, stressi taluvust, proteoomi ja üldist elulemust P. putida TruA ja RluA defektsetes tüvedes. Lisaks sellele selgitasime võrdlevalt TruA ja RluA rolle ka Pseudomonas aeruginosa ja Escherichia coli rakkudes. Saadud tulemustest on näha, kuidas konserveerunud funktsiooniga valgud võivad põhjustada erinevates bakterites erinevaid fenotüüpe. Samuti ilmestab käesolev töö, kuivõrd mitmekesised ja ootamatud tegurid võivad mõjutada DNAs mutatsioonide teket.Bacteria can live everywhere. To cope with harsh and everchanging environmental conditions there is a constant need for genetic versatility. Mutations are the main source of genetic versatility in bacteria. To understand the evolution and adaptive abilities of bacteria, it is vital to investigate the processes affecting the mutation frequency. We have created, verified, and applied a new test system for detecting factors affecting the mutation frequency in bacteria from the genus Pseudomonas. By exploiting the new assay, we identified several genes affecting the mutation frequency in the soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida, many of which were not previously associated with the mutation frequency. Most surprising finding was that the tRNA modification enzymes TruA and RluA affect mutagenesis. tRNAs are small adaptor molecules that carry the building blocks of enzymes to the ribosome and thus are essential for translation. To improve their performance, tRNAs are extensively modified. Among other roles, modifications help tRNA’s to achieve the correct structure and improve the translation fidelity. TruA and RluA modify U nucleotide into pseudouridines in the close vicinity of tRNA anticodon. We demonstrated that the lack of TruA- and RluA-catalyzed modifications remarkably increases the mutation frequency in P. putida. To further analyze the importance of the modification enzymes TruA and RluA, we measured the stress tolerance, translation fidelity, protein expression and general fitness of P. putida strains lacking TruA or RluA. For comparison we analyzed the phenotypes caused by TruA and RluA deficiency in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli cells. Our research demonstrates how an enzyme with conserved function can cause diverse phenotypes in different bacteria. Also, the thesis illustrates how the complex world of DNA mutations can be affected by many nonobvious factors.

Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence in breeding pigs in Estonia

Background: Toxoplasma gondii is a widespread occurring parasite infecting warm-blooded animals, including pigs and humans. The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence of anti-T. gondii antibodies and to evaluate risk factors for T. gondii seropositivity in breeding pigs raised in Estonia. Sera from 382 pigs were tested with a commercial direct agglutination test, using a cut-off titer of 40 for seropositivity, for the presence of anti-T. gondii immunoglobulin G antibodies. Results: Twenty-two (5.8%) of the 382 pigs tested seropositive for T. gondii, and 6 of the 14 herds had at least one seropositive pig. The proportion of seropositive pigs within the herds ranged between 0 and 43%. Gender appeared as a significant factor, with sows having 5.6 times higher odds to be seropositive to T. gondii than boars. Seroprevalence did not increase with age. Conclusions: Anti-T. gondii antibodies were present in a substantial proportion of breeding pig herds in Estonia. On the other hand, the presence of herds without seropositive pigs illustrates that porcine T. gondii infections can be avoided even in a country where the parasite is endemic and common in several other host species.Peer reviewe

Relationships between domestic violence and other socio-sconomic problems in Estonia

http://www.ester.ee/record=b4486296*es

Konverents "Traditsioonilised kampsunid Läänemeremaades"

http://tartu.ester.ee/record=b2653349~S1*es

Internet eraeluliste teenuste pakkujana - kasutaja vaade

The more people use the Internet, the bigger are the needs they expect to be fulfilled by the use of it. Consequently, the bigger is also people’s need for personal life services and for information they hope to obtain over the Internet. The present research is about the Internet use for personal life services. The title of my thesis is “The Internet as a provider of personal life services – users’ point of view”. The purpose of my research was to find out how people use the Internet for their personal life issues and what kind of services and information they mainly look for in the Internet. There are not many studies about the Internet use in Estonia carried out yet. For our thesis we, a group of 4 students, conducted qualitative interviews with 16 people. An interview consisted of different parts and questions compiled according to the purposes of our studies. The interviewees were the same people who participated in the previous national research about using different media (known as Meema) that was carried out by the Department of Journalism and Communication of Tartu University in the years 2002- 2003. From the previous Meema research and from the present study 8 main topics describing the use of the Internet for personal life purposes appeared. These main topics include: travel, real estate, job, health and administrative information, meeting new people, information about the hobbies and using the services of e-banking, e-tax office and e- commerce. It was interesting to compare the changes in the Internet use of the people for private life purposes from the year 2003 (Meema research) till now, the year 2005 (current study). The biggest difference was in using e-commerce services. While in 2003, the majority of our interviewees wrote that they did not use the Internet for shopping purposes at all, 2 years later most of them talked about their experiences in e-commerce. The next biggest change was in looking for a job via the Internet, which is also more popular now. Changes in the use of other services were not so remarkable. The research shows that using the Internet for personal life issues depends on people’s current period of life and certain needs at this period. If they need some kind of private life information or services, the Internet is a very convenient and fast resource to fulfil these needs and save time. Different transactions via the Internet are not so popular yet. The exceptions here are the use of e-bank and e-tax office services, which are very popular. However, people still use the Internet mainly for gathering different kind of information and getting an overview of a certain topic or question. Thus, in the Internet there are not only goods and services available, but also a lot of ideas and in this way the Internet helps people make their decisions

Kehateadlikkuse ning rühma- ja partneritunnetuse arendamine läbi kontaktimprovisatsiooni

http://tartu.ester.ee/record=b2693614~S1*es

Animatsioonide osast aatomi ehituse ja keemilise sideme teema õpetamisel põhikoolis

http://tartu.ester.ee/record=b2508543~S1*es